Harry Meghan - Their Bumpy Road

THE COUPLE ARRIVED IN THE U.S. EAGER TO LEAVE THE STRESS OF THE ROYAL WORLD BEHIND. BUT BUILDING A NEW LIFE HASN'T ALWAYS BEEN EASY. INSIDE THEIR EFFORTS TO MAKE IT WORK

- ANDREA MANDELL, DANIELLE BACHER, PERNILLA CEDENHEIM, MELODY CHIU, LIZA ESQUIBIAS, ELIZABETH LEONARD, SIMON PERRY, JASON SHEELER, MARISA SULLIVAN, GILLIAN TELLING

There's a balmy solitude to mornings in Montecito, Calif., where the Pacific Ocean crashes against the cliffs-and if you squint, that might just be Prince Harry playing fetch on the sand with his Labrador Pula. "The cutest dog dropped his ball by me, and I looked up to ask the owner if I could throw it, and it was Prince Harry," recalls a surprised local. "He didn't wear a hat; I could see his red hair."

Three years after he and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, left royal life and resettled in one of California's priciest hamlets (home to Oprah, Katy Perry, Rob Lowe and Ellen DeGeneres), their life as parents to Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2, has taken on routine, relaxed beats: Harry, 38, weaving through the village on his bike; Meghan, 42, popping into local markets and chatting with moms at school pickup; Lili atop Harry's shoulders at the town's July 4 parade. In this rarefied air, they seem to have finally found peace and quiet. It's a "very different" life for Harry, says a family insider, and one he "seems to be embracing."